Intergroup boundaries and removal decisions
利用法庭记录和移民法官数据，研究新冠疫情和司法部长政策如何影响法官基于群体身份做出驱逐决定，对促进移民裁决公正有启示。
Abstract Events and experiences that activate or intensify intergroup boundaries are ubiquitous. This study uses extensive court records and original data on immigration judges (IJs) to examine whether and how IJs responded to two recent exogenous shocks that made certain intergroup boundaries highly salient: (1) the COVID-19 pandemic that stigmatized Chinese nationals, and (2) former Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ issuance of Matter of A-B- that targeted certain Central American, Mexican, and female asylum seekers. We find that shared social identity between IJs and immigrants in removal proceedings predicts IJs’ removal decisions in response to the pandemic and in response to the Matter of A-B-. Our analysis also shows that social diversity of IJs at the court level predicts individual judges’ removal decisions in response to the pandemic. These results have significant implications for ongoing efforts to promote fairness and impartiality in immigration adjudication.